MQ-5B Hunter UAV

Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Hunter Unmanned
Aircraft System (UAS), in use with the U.S. Army since 1996,
recently surpassed 50,000 flight hours in service, over half
of which were flown in combat over Iraq and the former Yugoslavia.
Northrop Grumman-operated Hunter MQ-5A and Army-operated MQ-5B
models are currently deployed in the Global War on Terrorism.
Hunter provides warfighters with state-of-the-art reconnaissance,
surveillance, target acquisition (RSTA), communications relay,
and weapons delivery. Hunter is currently operated by the US,
French and Belgian armies.

The RQ-5A Hunter was the Army's first fielded UAS. Hunter
is capable of covering ranges of 125 to 250 km utilizing air
data relay. Flying typical missions at 70 kts, with occasional
dashes, Hunter's endurance was increased from 12 hours to
21 hours, with the introduction of wet extended center wing
and new Heavy Fuel Engines (HFE, using diesel or jet fuel)
(see below).

Currently deployed with aerial exploitation companies in
support to III corps, XVIII Airborne Corps and V corps, Hunter
was the first UAV in US Army inventory to demonstrate weapons
capability. In 2003 Hunter was tested with acoustic/IR homing
BAT weapon, as well as a modified laser designated BAT,
called Viper Strike.
In 2004 the Hunter's engines were replaced from the two-stroke
MotoGuzzi gasoline engine to a three cylinder commercial JP-8
fuel engines. This heavy fuel engine improves performance
and simplifies the logistics and support of the system in
the field. A Hunter UAV system includes three ground control
stations, two ground data terminals, six Hunter aerial vehicles
and six IAI/Tamam MOSP EO/IR
day/night payloads, offering imagery with focal length
of 280mm up to 770mm. Three airborne relay datalinks are employed
by the unit for extended range operations.

The MQ-5B is the advanced version of the system enhanced
with a modern avionics suite, heavy fuel engines, and inclusion
of "wet" (fuel-carrying) extended center wing and
introduction of weapons-capable hard points. The MQ-5B Hunter
system uses the US Army's 'One System' ground control station
and remote video terminal. It also carries a communications
relay package to extend the radio range of warfighters. A
differential GPS automatic takeoff and landing system is under
development for Hunter. The MQ-5B can carry two Viper Strike
munitions on a 16 hours mission.

The aircraft features a robust, fixed-wing, twin tail-boom
design with redundant control systems powered by two heavy
fuel engines - one engine to "push" and another
to "pull" the air vehicle. A unique Hunter capability
is its relay mode that allows one Hunter to be controlled
by another UAV at extended ranges or over terrain obstacles
typical of those found in the Balkans and Afghanistan.

To replace obsolete systems, increase readiness and reduce
the logistics burden on soldiers, Northrop Grumman integrated
a new suite of avionics for Hunter, including upgraded flight
and mission computers, an auxiliary power distribution unit,
the LN-251 inertial navigation system and GPS units, a downsized
data link system, and an APX-118 IFF transponder. The avionics
suite improves performance by reducing size, weight, and power
consumption of the equipment used to control the aircraft
and manage its critical subsystems.

In 2006 the Hunter was used to test an Adaptive Joint Intelligence
payload - a new reconfigurable payload that will allow users
to share multiple types of communications simultaneously;
a capability that is not yet available to warfighters in the
field. The software-driven payload will be reconfigurable
to operate as a communications relay, a signals intelligence-gathering
device or an electronic-warfare tool.

Further enhancements were
demonstrated by the E-Hunter program, utilizing a 54.5 foot
wing and a new tail assembly, both derived from the Hunter
II aerial vehicle. The Northrop-Grumman's Hunter II proposal
for the ER/MP program was based on an enlarged variant of
the Hunter UAV, leveraging modern avionics from MQ-5B Hunter
system. Eventually, the US Army selected the Sky warrior -
proposed by General Atomics. With the HFE engine, E-Hunter
could take off at a maximum weight of 2,200 lbs, on a 40 hours
mission at a ceiling of up to 25,000'. The new wings and tail
are designed to carry a variety of external sensors, communications,
EW and weapons payloads. E-Hunter was flown for the first
time on March 17, 2005. as part of an on-going cooperative
effort between Northrop Grumman and the US Army, to extend
the range, endurance and payload capacity of the Hunter UAV
system. The modification will be offered as a field installable
kit.